SCOLYMIA MYSTERY. HELP ME SOLVE IT!!

[jayteerq]

Please help me figure out this mystery!!! Has your scolys ever moved??? I’ve had these 2 scolys for about 3 months now. First 2 months they were great, skirt would extend all the way to the sandbed. Now for the past month it seems like something is messing with them. I’ve since removed those white tube like things on their skeleton but there’s still something bothering them. Could they be getting eaten from inside out??

Everyday they keep receding more and more. The worst part is something keeps moving them and flipping them??? Some days I’ll come home and they’re moved to the complete other side of the tank. Other times they’re flipped upside down. Today I come home and one is on top of the other. what the heck???? I don’t think it could be any of my inverts or fish because I have plenty of other sand bed corals. I just can’t figure out what’s going on with these guys and don’t want them to die on me!

 

[Chrisv.]

I wonder if there is any chance of a peanut worm doing something like this.

 

[billyo2811]

My guess would be a fish is picking at them and moving them. But there is a type of boring mussel that eats homophyllia and a lot of other LPS from the inside. Reefbum sat down with Shane danger awhile back and he went through the specifics.

 

[jayteerq]

My guess would be a fish is picking at them and moving them. But there is a type of boring mussel that eats homophyllia and a lot of other LPS from the inside. Reefbum sat down with Shane danger awhile back and he went through the specifics.

Might have to put a camera on them to catch what’s going on because this is happening every other day now

 

[joeoliver]

Interesting. following. what fish and inverts are in your tank?

I have my scolys glued to small rocks so they're harder to move, but my wrasses are always hunting around/under them. I also suspect my emerald crab may have picked at one of my scolys which caused it to start receding and start growing algae on the skeleton. I brushed off the algae and moved it and it has fully recovered.

 

[jayteerq]

Interesting. following. what fish and inverts are in your tank?

I have my scolys glued to small rocks so they're harder to move, but my wrasses are always hunting around/under them. I also suspect my emerald crab may have picked at one of my scolys which caused it to start receding and start growing algae on the skeleton. I brushed off the algae and moved it and it has fully recovered.

The thing that concerns me is the underside of both scolys look very busy. Like a lot of foreign things there. I’m not a skilled enough reefer to know what’s bad and what’s not but I feel like they may have some burrowing clams underneath. I’ve set up a camera to spy on what happens lol.

I have hermits and snails all smaller sizes. I have 2 tuxedos and a few emeralds. My fish are a hippo tang, fairy wrasse, anthias, clowns and chromis. I watch my tank quite often throughout the week and haven’t seen anything bothering the scolys. So im leaning more towards a pest underneath or inside the scoly. Stay tuned hopefully I can catch some good footage!

 

[Kmst80]

In my tank it's the rockboring and tuxedo urchins that move everything from sand, corals, glued down corals and liferock 10 times their size.
In your case I would move the scollies of the sand onto rock and glue them down. Since yours are getting moved around and put upside down etc. it's no wonder they're receding. Another factor could be sand getting onto them from sitting in the sandbed.
I lost a few scolies early on through recession coz they were sitting in the sand. Now that I have them on the rock they thrive, even get picked on by my dwarf angels every now and then and it doesn't bother them.
Check your light too, they are more on the lower light scale.

 

[jayteerq]

In my tank it's the rockboring and tuxedo urchins that move everything from sand, corals, glued down corals and liferock 10 times their size.
In your case I would move the scollies of the sand onto rock and glue them down. Since yours are getting moved around and put upside down etc. it's no wonder they're receding. Another factor could be sand getting onto them from sitting in the sandbed.
I lost a few scolies early on through recession coz they were sitting in the sand. Now that I have them on the rock they thrive, even get picked on by my dwarf angels every now and then and it doesn't bother them.
Check your light too, they are more on the lower light scale.

The thing that’s confusing me is that they did so well for the first 2 months in the sand with the same environment. I will try the rock idea. I don’t have anywhere to place them on my scape. Can I get away with placing them on a coral tile?

 

[jayteerq]

Like how did one end up on top of another???? That’s insane lol

 

[Kmst80]

Like how did one end up on top of another???? That’s insane lol

Yeah that's odd but fish and inverts can do odd things.
Just make sure the scollies are a couple cm off the sand, even on a little rock island or so. I woke up to this the other day, no other coral near this one, no idea who did this and what happend.

But it's healing.

 

[Tcook]

Yeah that's odd but fish and inverts can do odd things.
Just make sure the scollies are a couple cm off the sand, even on a little rock island or so. I woke up to this the other day, no other coral near this one, no idea who did this and what happend.

But it's healing.

Any emerald crabs in the tank?

 

[Kmst80]

Any emerald crabs in the tank?

No emerald crabs, only mantis shrimps, pistol shrimps, a few of those invasive crabs with the striped legs, a stone crab if it's still alive and maybe a gorilla crab. Never had a problem whit those in 2 years. There is another scolly 10 cm away from that one, never touched In 3 years.

 

[jayteerq]

Any emerald crabs in the tank?

Yes!

 

[jayteerq]

Glued them onto some rock

 

[joeoliver]

nice scolys by the way. I have the same colors. hope you're able to figure out what's happening in your tank.

 

[jayteerq]

nice scolys by the way. I have the same colors. hope you're able to figure out what's happening in your tank.

Thanks! I love yours. I like how they have more even coloring

 

[joeoliver]

How are the scolys doing? Were you able to figure out what was messing with them?

 

[jayteerq]

How are the scolys doing? Were you able to figure out what was messing with them?

I glued them to the rocks. One seems to be doing good and the other seems like its in recovery. Hasnt shrank anymore and is starting to extend a bit more so im hopeful the sandbed was what was bothering them!